The advent of the electronic typesetting machines presented typesetters with the opportunity to prepare text to be typeset in an electronic format. The typesetting machine typically employs a code recognizable to the typesetting machine for all of the characters and for operations which might be input to the machine. A common typesetter code format, TTS, allows the typesetter to translate each data word input to the machine into a symbol or operation.
The advent of single-user (personal) computers prompted the development of many page layout and composition programs which may be utilized on personal computers or other dedicated page composition work stations to prepare and revise text for printing on a variety of electronic typesetters. These programs also create text files in a coded format. This coded format allows the particular typesetter connected to the work station to interpret each of the data words contained in a text file and output a character, or perform a printing operation, in response to each word or string or words. One coded format that is popularly employed by such programs is ASCII.
Special interfaces have been developed for receiving text files in one coded format, such as ASCII, translating those text files into another coded format recognizable by a typesetter machine, such as TTS, and outputting the converted text file to the typesetting machine. These interfaces allow text files to be developed on inexpensive personal computers and easily transferred for typesetting to electronic typewriting machines.
However, a single typesetting facility may have a plurality of different personal computers employing different software for preparing text files which may ultimately be typeset. Input of text files prepared on any one of the page composition work stations would require interface for direct connection to the typesetting machine as well as the capability of converting the coded format of the text file prepared by the word processor to the coded format recognizable by the typesetting machine.
Also, a typical installation may have one or more different typesetting machines into which it inputs text files prepared by various personal computer work stations. Physical transfer of a particular text file from one personal computer to another personal computer for input to a selected typesetting machine connected to the second personal computer interrupts the operation of both of the personal computers, resulting in an overall loss of efficiency in the operation of the facility.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an interface which allows for transfer of text files prepared on any one of a plurality of personal computers to a selected one of these personal computers for output to a typesetter connected to that personal computer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an interface capable of performing code conversions from the first of several preselected coded formats corresponding to the text files formatted by personal computer page composition programs to a second preselected coded format corresponding to the code recognizable by the typesetting machine to which the text file is being output.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for an interface which monitors the status of any files queued for output to an electronic typesetting machine connected to a particular personal computer and which monitors the status of the text files queued for output from that personal computer to other personal computers for output to typesetting machines connected to those personal computers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an interface including a microprocessor which employs the above described functions on a continuous basis without interrupting the normal processing of the personal computer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an interface which performs the functions described above and which is embodied in a circuit board insertable into each of the personal computers in this system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an off-site auto-boot mechanism for microprocessor-based expansion boards for personal computers, such as the interface of the present invention.